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Funding awarded for new severe arthritis pain study

Medical
research charity Arthritis Research UK has awarded researchers at UCL and the University of Nottingham a grant of £800,000 to
develop new treatments for severe arthritis pain.

The
research could be of benefit to the millions of people with arthritis around
the world who experience disability and distress as a result of their pain.

The
team at UCL and the Arthritis
Research UK Pain Centre at the University of Nottingham will use the funds
for a four year study to look at the role of the proteins and molecules
involved in causing severe pain in people with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid
arthritis.

Currently
people experiencing pain associated with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid
arthritis are offered pain relieving drugs, such as steroids or ibuprofen, which
work by blocking the disease inflammation. Although these drugs work well for people experiencing low level pain,
they can have little impact for people experiencing severe pain.

The team, led
jointly by Professor John Wood at the UCL Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research and Professor David Walsh, director of the Arthritis Research UK Pain
Centre at the University of Nottingham, hope their
findings may lead to the development of new drug treatments which are more
effective in fighting arthritis pain.

This grant will help increase our understanding of the exact role of the proteins and molecules involved in causing severe pain, which remain largely unknown.

Professor John Wood, UCL Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research

Professor Wood
said: “We know that many people with arthritis experience disabling pain every
day, quite often brought on by carrying out simple activities such as walking
or standing. Pain remains the biggest issue for people with arthritis, even after they have
been using currently available treatments to their best effect."

Professor Walsh added:
“We’re looking at whether arthritis is less
painful when specific molecules are missing that are known to convert
mechanical stimuli (e.g., touch, pressure, etc.) to nervous impulses to give us
mechanical sensation. We are seeing which of these molecules are present in the
joints of people with either osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.

“From this we will
be able to tell which specific molecule or molecules are mediating arthritis
pain, so that we can develop and test drugs to those specific molecules as
potential new treatments for arthritis. None of the painkillers that are
currently available specifically block pain transmission in response to
mechanical stimuli.”

Medical director of
Arthritis Research UK, Professor Alan Silman said: “Although pain varies from
person to person, in some people it can have a considerable effect and a
debilitating impact on their daily life. This piece of research
offers us a better understanding of the pain caused by arthritis and is
therefore a hugely exciting study.”

Professor John Wood
added: “We’re delighted to receive this Arthritis Research UK grant to help
increase our understanding of the exact role of the proteins and molecules
involved in causing severe pain, which remain largely unknown.”